One in every eight Frenchwomen (and men) has a secondary residence*. So if you live in the Hexagone for a while, chances are that you'll be asked spend a weekend at one of these tucked-away homes in France's picturesque provinces. And whether you're invited out into the country, up to the mountains, or alongside the sea (some lucky families have all three, of course), you'll probably be expected to join your Parisian hosts in a game of let's-pretend-we're-locals. Sometimes this means sticking your stockinged feet into a pair of weather-beaten galoshes--only to see the real natives wearing their Sunday best. Or riding a rickety bicycle to the nearest open market--trying to ignore all the 75s on the license plates passing you by. Whatever the fly in the ointment, you'll probably be having too much fun playing make-believe to mind.
*Paris Insider's Guide 2004, p. 65.
Kirsten Dunst as Marie-Antoinette. [Online image] 1996.
